OS X is out there. You’ve seen it in coffee shops, on TV, in the laps of hipsters at the local taqueria. There‘s no shame in wondering what all the fuss is about. Hell, it’s healthy to mix it up a little bit. If only the idea of sending Steve Jobs and the rest of Apple, Inc. thousands of your hard-earned dollars didn’t send you into a cold sweat that only a game of Left4Dead can cure. Still, OS X is the subject of many glowing reviews. Even hardcore PC users are singing its praises. If you have the itch to try out OS X, but you’re not down with shelling out the cash for a new Mac, we have one word for you: Hackintosh.

When Apple announced the move to Intel processors for its computer lineup, the search was on for a practical way to install OS X on non-Apple hardware. Over the years, the best way to achieve this feat was to patch a retail version of the OS X install from Apple. Users would scour the Internet for the patches—always hoping that what they downloaded was indeed the correct patch, and not some virus or trojan horse ready to wreck havoc on their PCs.

But these days the quest for OS X needn’t be so perilous. Read on to see how an inventive little USB device can let you easily dual boot OS X on non-Apple hardware, using a legitimate copy of OS X.

Unless you spent this morning snoozing underneath a rock or immersed in your new Palm Pre, you are aware that Apple announced the impending release of a new mobile phone, the iPhone 3G S. The additional letter stands for Speed; the new iPhone boasts a longer battery life, environmentally friendly construction, voice commands, and a 3 megapixel camera with programmable macros, as well as the ability to record video. No doubt plenty of Apple fans have since been drooling uncontrollably over the announcement of yet another reason to empty their wallets on yet another Apple product – but not us, mind you, no siree. Here are five reasons why you won’t find us running to the Apple store on June 19th to upgrade our phones.

Apple, who knows a thing or two about marketing, released its Safari 4 web browser this week calling it the "world's fastest and most innovative web browser." Sound familiar? It should, because Apple made the same claim a little over four months ago when it released Safari 4 in beta form, only now the company has taken its self-praise a step further.

"The successful beta release helped us fine tune Safari 4 into an even better, faster version that customers are going to love," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Safari is enjoyed by 70 million users worldwide and with its blazing fast speed, innovative features, and support for modern web standards, it's the best browser on any platform."

Safari owes much of its speed to the new Nitro JavaScript rendering engine, which the company claims executes JavaScript almost eight times faster than IE8 and three times faster than Firefox 3. At the heart of Safari 4 is the WebKit browser engine with support for HTML 5, advanced CSS effects, stellar web compliance, and more.

But the "best browser on any platform"? Scores of Firefox users addicted to add-ons might have something to say about that.

RussianMac is the latest company ballsy enough to tempt fate, and enter the fake Mac market.

On their site, they state that all of their machines come with a full version of Mac OS X Leopard pre-installed. They also state that the operating system will be able to receive automatic updates from Apple once everything has been installed. However, Apple has been able to dominate the Mac market because the OS X End User License Agreement (EULA), which clearly states that no one may install their software on hardware that hasn’t been sold by Apple. This clause has successfully shut down the entire Mac clone market.

But, in a twist, RussianMac claims that since they have bought the OS directly from Apple, they’re not in violation of the EULA (though, they are yet to explain how they’ve installed it on Apple’s hardware). It should be noted that the German company PearC was able to use that defense in order to sell machines in Germany, so perhaps this defense could work in Russia as well?

Psystar, the company responsible for the 'Open Computer' and a continual thorn in Apple's side, has filed for bankruptcy protection. According to court papers, Psystar owes more than $250,000 to shipping companies, the IRS, and its attorneys.

"Debtor sales have been greatly affected by the decrease in consumer spending," Psystar said in a statement. "The financial crisis has also caused creditors to tighten up their terms and become more demanding for immediate payment."

Psystar gained notoriety for taking on Apple by selling computer systems equipped with Mac OS X. In July of last year, Apple sued the company for copyright infringement, however that lawsuit has now been temporarily suspended until the bankruptcy protection goes through proceedings.

According to a report from Piper Jaffray, an international middle market investment firm, Apple might be putting itself in a position to release a netbook sometime in 2010.

Apple hasn't stated publicly any plans to release a low-cost notebook, and such a move would seem to go against the company's M.O. However, the investment firm points out the acquisition of PA Semi, several patents Apple has taken out, and the recent hiring of chip designers as evidence that Apple wants to be more active in the mobile world.

"We are anticipating a new category of Apple products with an operating system more robust than the iPhone’s but optimized for multi-touch, unlike Mac OS X," Piper Jaffray wrote. "The device’s OS could bear a close resemblance to Apple’s mobile OS and run App Store apps, or it could be a modified version of Mac OS X."

The reports suggest Apple could release a touchscreen tablet between 7 and 10 inches for anywhere from $500 to $700, which is out of netbook pricing territory, but might find an audience among those looking for a low-cost Mac. Moreover, the firm says Apple may use a proprietary CPU design.

A couple of announcements surfaced today, one each for both of the smartphone heavyweights - Apple's iPhone and T-Mobile's G1. If you own, or are considering, one or the other, keep reading.

Amazon Updates Kindle App for iPhone

Score a win for iPhone owners, who now have an improved Kindle app to mess around with. Now in version 1.1, the updated release addresses a few customer complaints, one of them being that users can now read in either portrait or landscape mode. And to make reading easier, you can now change the background and text color combination. Other changes include tap support for turning pages, and multi-touch pinch to zoom in on images.

G1 'Cupcake' Update Pushed Back Until June

G1 owners who have been anxiously awaiting the much anticipated 'Cupcake' update (Android 1.5) will have to wait a little longer. What was originally supposed to be an "early May" release looked like it was finally going to start trickling out this week in the U.S., but word has come down that the update has been delayed at least one more week.

"We are working diligently to get Android 1.5 out as soon as possible, while aiming to ensure a consistent, positive experience for our customers," a T-Mobile forum moderator announced. "We're finalizing this build this week to ensure optimal functionality and smooth delivery. Therefore, the rollout schedule has been reset by approximately a week, and we expect all G1 customers will have the update by early June."

You knew it was coming sooner or later. Microsoft's Laptop Hunters commercials have hit a sore spot with Apple after attempting to expose the MacBook as an overpriced, underpowered (but pretty) platform, so it was only a matter of time before Apple fired back.

Starring Justin Long and John Hodgman (who else?), the latter stands in front of a long line of suited PCs. Two by two, a handful of of PCs are disqualified as an actress lists what's she's looking for (big screen, fast processor), until she lobs and oft-used Apple bomb.

"I just need something that works without crashing or viruses or a ton of headaches," the actress demands.

Disgusted, Hodgman and the remaining PCs march off-screen, leaving Justin Long (Mac) as the remaining option. You can check it out here, then hit the jump and post tell us what you think.

Sure, Apple’s app store has been known to make its fair share of senseless moves, but this one just about nears the top of the list. Recently they rejected Maza Digital’s Drivetrain, an app that would allow users to control the Transmission Bittorrent client from anywhere. Why? Because those that use it are infringing upon rights, of course!

Apple’s reason for denying the app was because “this category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights.” So, while there are millions of legal torrents available and it’s quickly become one of the most popular ways to download files, those that use it are (and I’m paraphrasing here) criminal.

Well, at least you can still get Ze Frank’s free iPhone app. I wonder if they’ll try to deny it too?

Sony CEO Howard Stringer has hit a point in his life where he’s decided to change some things – or at least, talk about it. In a recent interview with Nikkei Electronics Asia, Stringer made some pretty bold statements about Sony’s future and their past.

He claims that going forward, Sony will use more open standards. “If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple” in music. A pretty lofty statement considering how insanely popular the iTunes music store is today. But, in its fledgling days, who knows? Anything is possible.

“We can no longer say that we’re right and our customers are wrong. We can’t build only what we want to build,” he continued. If you want to read the full interview, give it a look here.

So, what do you think? Will Sony continue their present ways, or are they going to change for the better (or worse)? Let us know what you think in the comments.